Silence is the Question

The surface comparisons are nearly impossible to ignore and, I have to admit, I immediately compared the Bad Plus to Medeski, Martin, & Wood. And while maybe it was rekindled with Medeski, Martin, & Wood, the Bad Plus are the ones who may truly revitalize the traditional jazz trio of piano, bass, and drums. The jam-band community quickly usurped MMW not because they weren't jazzy, but because they were so rhythmically driven, like the jam-based bands they tirelessly followed. And since then, unfortunately, jazz purists have looked upon MMW with a suspicious eye, certain that at any moment they may reveal that they are indeed masquerading as a jazz band and simply want the hippies to get up and dance at their shows, too. The Bad Plus could suffer the same fate if they follow in MMW's footsteps, but would that be such a bad thing afterall? Should jazz today be for the purists, or should it go seeking new arms to embrace it?

The Bad Plus is just as rhythmically centered as MMW are but the music as represented on These Are The Vistas steers back toward traditional jazz elements. If anything, the Bad Plus make better use of their heavy rhythm-section orientation - as a band of three rhythm-section instruments should - because, rather than relying on constantly propelling forward, the group will break down for solos to further develop the melodic elements of their pieces. After absorbing the Bad Plus and the upfront, bold, "big" production on the album by Tchad Blake, those surface similarities disappear and the resulting impression remains of that of a powerful jazz trio whose influences range from traditional - Thelonius Monk (whose off-kilter and fascinating rhythmic explorations are mirrored in "Keep The Bugs Off Your Glass And The Bears Off Your Ass") to modern - Brad Mehldau (during opening track "Big Eater" and during "1972 Bronze Medalist," pianist Ethan Iverson pounds at the piano in heavy, blocky chords reminiscent of Mehldau's more frantic moments on last year's amazing Largo.)

Of note are the three covers the Bad Plus chooses for the album. All three were certain "gotta hear this" choices - who wouldn't be curious what "Smells Like Teen Spirit" sounds like rendered by a jazz group? Turns out that in the hands of these able musicians, Teen Spirit smells like a jazzified blues romp. And Blondie's "Heart Of Glass" swings from a boozie barroom number to an up-tempo ballroom number before careening into a short, tasteful drum solo. Most intriguing of all is the Bad Plus' take on electronic whiz-kid freak Aphex Twin's adorably spastic "Flim." While remaining essentially true to the original, listeners should be fascinated by drummer David King's remarkable ability to mimic Aphex Twin's ever-shifting, and entirely un-organic, percussive rhythms. This is one case where a straight reading of the original is actually more intriguing than using it as simply a jumping-off point. Sometimes covers like this can be gimmicky, but if done the right way, if those oh-so-familiar riffs are exploited just the right way, they can take on a life of their own. They don't entirely fit in with the style of the rest of the album, but they don't stick out like the sore thumbs they could be.

Article Author: Tom Johnson

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